New York; January, 2008: The Pomegranate Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition My Roof in Ruins, I Drown in Light: recent paintings by Osama Khatlan, on exhibit from February 2nd through February 23rd, 2008

Osama Khatlan was born in Diwaniya, Iraq in 1954. He studied graphic arts and photography at the Florence State Art Institute in Italy between 1981-1984. He began his career in 1977 working as an editorial cartoonist, drawing cartoons and pictures for three books and numerous newspapers in Iraq, Italy, New York and London. He currently lives and works in New York. Khatlan has exhibited his work widely, including solo exhibitions in Baghdad, London and New York. He also took part in Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art, an exhibition of Iraqi art, which toured in England and the U.S. from 2000 through 2002.

Says Khatlan, “The expression of experience becomes possible with an organic link to disclose the values of color. line, form and material that create a total human understanding. A spectator is to be believed. I want to think that my paintings contain a clear reflection of the overriding human passions that unfold with increasing assurance; a vast open territory ready for the contests, the sufferings, frustrations and the celebrations of mankind. I want my painting to break away from the certainty and closely guarded function of the music and develop its own melody.”

The gallery is supported in part by the Oded Halahmy Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural organization created to fund original artistic expressions that will promote a greater cultural understanding of the Middle East, thereby fostering peace and hope around the world. The Foundation has already supported a number of Middle Eastern writers and poets by bringing their translated books to the American audience.

Also on view: contemporary Iraqi art from the gallery collection, catalogue available.